The circle gets modernized
by Bella Narcissa
Summary: Rated PG13 for gritty stuff. The circle gets modernized, When Briar meets a girl on the beach, their lives are suddenly centered around the child she carries. Angsty and some more mature stuff later on.R
1. Lotus position

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tamora peirce's characters, I don't own the hair spray or the mini skirts, i don't own the lotus position, I only own the candy used to fuel this.**

**They all still have their magic even though it isn't mentioned in this chapter, I need some help with Daja's magic and Maybe Tris' because with global warming the weather is wacky enouhg without her help, or does she have something to do with that? R&R, first reviewers will be the ones I listen to when you give me suggestions. Enjoy**

"Briar!" Sandry rushed around the corner and smacked right into him.

"Seriously Sandry." He complained peeling her off him and examining what she wore, brotherly instinct took over at her too short skirt and the plunging neckline on her tank top.

"I tried to warn her." Daja said shaking her head with its multiple rows of long, long thin braids that fell past her back, "Briar will make you change, and that's way to much eye liner."

"Just for that I won't make her change." Briar told Daja, making a face at her.

"Only 'cause Marissa is coming." Tris interrupted from her room in the apartment they shared.

The bell rang, "We'll be at the movies watching a movie." Sandry told Briar hurriedly.

"Because people usually go to the theater to trying on clothes." Tris said rolling her eyes. She ran out of her room trying to control her fly away hair with a bottle of spray that was so often refilled and used again that the label was beyond recognition.

Sandry grabbed the bottle out of Tris' hands and sprayed some on her own hair; they both ran out the door. Briar didn't even try to tell Tris her black shirt was replaced with the one Sandry had made in home economics, Sandry was forever after Tris to wear clothes that fit her. Briar noticed Tris' jeans were fixed also and she had been persuaded to wear her contacts.

"Aren't you going Daj?"

"Don't like any of those guys." Daja answered smiling at Briar.

"You could still go."

"Nope, it's a group date thing, besides I'm going out in a bit with Julie. Girl stuff you know."

"Don't want to." Briar teased, the bell rang and there was Marissa, late as usual.

"Bye Daj."

"Bye!"

* * *

"I can't believe Ms. Leno." Marissa was saying over her vanilla cone.

"Hm?"

"She gave me a C- for my history project, I mean you read it, it deserved at least a B."

Briar didn't tell her that her history project had been riddled with "likes" and that her way of writing left the reader feeling like an adult being treated like a baby, it was so, so, _patronizing_.

"Seriously?" Briar asked swallowing a huge bite of chocolate ice cream. Marissa had her faults but she was also pretty, sweet, and funny, plus she had a temper, it was safer to stay on her good side.

"Yeah, I tried to ask her about it but she's all like, 'Sorry Miss Rowdosk, none of the marks can be reversed, besides I'm not changing your mark that is the mark I believe you deserve. Public school would be so much better…'" They got to a board walk, and finished their ice creams. Hands free, Briar slung his arm around her shoulder. The blonde wiggled away and took his hand, the sign he should zone out, now came the girl talk, "Hey Briar?"

"Yeah." Briar's eyes drifted along the coast to look at the beach hotties. His eyes came to a stop on a slender girl about his age. Her golden brown hair hung unpinned down her back, stopping just above the small of her back, she wore glasses with rectangular lenses and the black thick plastic rims Briar saw everywhere. Her skin was very pale, she was bent over a book resting on legs folded into the lotus position, and she did that willingly? Briar wondered, while reading a book?

"Right?" Marissa finished, Briar jumped slightly, and nodded.

"Yeah, totally."

"I know, so…" Marissa continued.

It took Briar a while to find the girl again. She had put down her book and was standing up, throwing a ball as far as she could for a dog. She wore frayed jean shorts that were finished high above her knee. She wore a white shirt with a v neck, the sleeves didn't reach further than her shoulders, but she looked wonderfully covered after Sandry's obsession with mini skirts and Marissa's low, low, tops. She sat on her heels to greet a dog that nearly bowled her over. She said something to the dog and Briar suddenly got the urge to see what colour her eyes were. She must have pretty eyes. From where he stood he could tell they were heavily outlined with eye liner.

"Briar!" Briar snapped out of his observation, something told him she had said his name multiple times. Marissa followed his gaze to the girl, who had settled again on the bench, her fingers dangled over the end of the bench being slobbered on by the dog. "I can't believe you Briar, we have _just_ gotten back together and there you go, looking at other girls." Marissa looked honestly upset.

"I wasn't." Murmured Briar. But he had been staring at the girl. A boom box was being placed on the beach, loud music filled the air.

"God Briar, you can't even stop staring at her long enough to answer me!"

"No Issa, seriously I wasn't staring at her like that."

Marissa sighed, "I'll talk to you later." She said walked briskly away from him. Briar stared after her, chances are he's be known as the world's biggest bastard at school on Monday.

Briar turned back to the girl. She was staring right back at him, her mouth was slightly lopsided, it was cute. She smiled, Briar looked into her eyes, they were a blue that was so pale they were nearly white, but they were _warm_ in a way, she beckoned him towards her with an evil grin. Briar shook his head and motioned for her to come to him. She did.

"Hey."

"You've been staring at me for a really long time." she informed him with a laugh.

"So much for subtle right?" Briar agreed. She blinked heavy pale lashes with clumpy mascara on them.

"You admit it?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Are you gonna ask me out?"

"What?"

She blushed but continued, "Well _are_ you? I mean usually guys don't stare at me like that for no reason, not that many guys stare at me or anything, you're the first one pretty much." She grinned as Briar tried to absorb all the information she'd just given him.

"I'm Lisa by the way." She said with a laugh, "One day I'll scare someone so bad with all my talk they just won't come back and with my luck they will have been my soul mate."

"If they don't like your talk they wouldn't be your soul mate would they?"

Lisa stopped, shocked, "You're probably right, wow, you managed to make heads or tails of what I just said? That's amazing even I don't understand what I'm saying half the time."

Briar laughed. "The name's Briar by the way."

"Are you a plant person? I'm Lisa, in case you didn't catch it before."

"So guys don't usually stare at you?" Briar asked trying to go back to the part of the conversation he had missed, something told him he simply couldn't zone out with Lisa.

"No, not really."

Briar stopped thinking, shocked; those were the fewest words he had heard come out of her mouth yet. "Is it possible you just didn't catch them?"

"I don't think so, but maybe. Seriously though, I'm not pretty enough for guys to stare at me, I mean the eyes maybe, but you'll snap out of it in a little while."

Briar stared at her, was she serious? Instead of telling her he hadn't seen her eyes until a few moments before, he made a point of staring at her, and then he shook his head, "Nope still there." He didn't tell her that though the sun was glinting off her hair anymore or making her skin seem golden, her quirks were enough to interest anyone, forget prettiness.

She blushed, then stared at him, there was that smile, then she shook her head, "I'm sorry, I've really got to go." She picked up her bag, looking as genuinely sorry as she could and began to walk away.

"Can I at least buy you an ice cream?" Briar called after her.

"Next time," she called back.

"What's you number?"

"What's your last name?"

"Moss." There was that plant thing again.

"I'll call you." Briar stared after her, his heart slowly calming down, he had lost her. It wasn't like she was actually going to call.


	2. Shorts should stay on their owner

**Author's note: Yes I know that this new chapter has taken beyond what most readers would have to wait, and for that I apologize sincerly, if it makes you feel better, I am giving you rotten tomatoes to throw at me. What I am thinking of doing, but am not sure about since I don't want to write myself into a corner is making this about the people the circle finds, how they find them, and how they deal with them, with maybe four or five chapters a person. But I'm not sure if I have the patience to do that... Anyway I don't own anything, wish I did, butI don't. Any suggestions are welcome. BTW the whole Sandry and her shorts part is based on me and by friend Sabrina, we went through a similar and no less disturbing moment.**

"Briar, you look a bit shaken up."

"I met this girl at the beach, and the she just kinda ran out on me."

Sandry gave him a look, "You're dating Marissa remember?"

"Uh, yeah, I know, actually, no I don't think that's still going on."

"Briar!" Sandry looked a bit shocked, "You _just_ got back together."

"And now we're broken up. Oh no." Briar loved Sandry; she could be his best friend. But sometimes she leached onto something and wouldn't let it go, until it was solved to her liking, like a pit bull. And this was not to her liking.

"I think Lisa, the girl, might be a mage." Briar ignored Sandry's injured look.

"Ambient?" Tris stared at the back of a chip package trying to change the amount of calories with sheer willpower.

"Yeah."

"What makes you say so?"

"Dunno, she seemed to draw the light to her, and then when I broke her concentration it stopped."

"Or maybe someone's in love." Daja called. Briar snorted.

"No, you have to meet her, but no, I'm not 'in love.'" Briar called a banana plant to him, which really had no right to grow in that weather or tropic. He was vaguely aware he was talking gibberish but decided to ignore it, he was tired. "I'm off to bed."

"Nighty night." Daja called, laughing.

"You guys, I'm worried about Briar, I thought Marissa was his someone-special." Sandry was stitching flowers onto the hem of her shorts nervously, the silver needle flashing in and out of the fabric.

"You know what I'm worried about? The fact all the junk food you eat because of your amazing metabolism that I want to steal and carry away with me; probably fried your brain." Tris dropped her bag of chips onto Sandry's head, listening for the squeal that came when the needle dug into bare flesh instead of fabric, "Briar liked Marissa, now he found this other girl, let him have his fun, we're only sixteen."

"I hate it when you're right." Sandry abandoned her efforts on her shorts and took them off in the middle of the room.

"God! Sandry put your shorts back on!" Briar was covering his eyes, his pajama pants falling off one hip.

"They're on."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Honestly?"

"No! Now go dream about your girl."

On cue the phone rang.

Sandry grabbed it.

"Sandry don't answer the phone in your underwear!" Briar reached for the phone having given up all pretense of letting her keep her modesty, which they had all lost around each other the first year after they met.

"Like they can tell?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"_Hello…?_"

"Hi! Larkie darling!" Sandry said with a pointed look at Briar, "Yes, we are getting along. Like peanut butter and jelly, Lark, I swear."

Briar yanked the phone form Sandry's hands, "She won't put on her shorts Lark, she walks around the house practically naked and it's emotionally wounding. No I didn't care when I was ten, but I- You will?"

Tris took the phone from Briar, "Larken, Briar found this girl and-"

"You mention that I like her and you will find cheesecake stuffed down your throat Tris!" Briar hissed.

"So you _do_ like her!" Daja enquired the only calm one in the room.

"Shut up!"

"See Larken, dear, Briar thinks she's a mage and was harnessing light. Yes-Yes- I know that light is a difficult element to harness, I know it's painfully destructive. Last time I checked he had all ten fingers and toes. Yes, he is still 'a man'. I'm assuming, I don't _know._ Lark! Talk to Daja!"

"I hope you know you are all painfully insane," Announced Rosethorn, after the conversation was repeated for her and she was put on speakerphone, "Sandry please put on your shorts, or pants, or snowsuit for all I care. Briar, you'll have to find her and find someone to train her, I'd say Tris until we can find someone else. Now go to bed, I meant it, now." They all looked at one another, "I don't hear you scampering to bed!"

"Bye Rosethorn." Daja said and turned off the phone.


	3. Akin to ductape

**Author's note: Yes it's short, and took a stupidly long time toupdate, soyou have my permission to throw tomatoes at me. I'll like to address some comment I got. First of all, for all you people who are enjoying my story. I LUV YOU ALL! **

**And now to address some of the other people. I'm not mad, but I am going to notice you, because it's stupid if I don't. First of all, I suck at planning so until the third or fourth chapter I'mletting my mind lead me so I don't plan it and it goes all screwy. I now have a plot, but before I laughed very hard when I was told my plot was weak (Ask Liarra she'll tell you) I _had_** **no plot. Seriously. Second of all I know many people think that Sandry is out of character and I'm totally sure I'd agree with you if I was a reader, but when I read the books she just seemed to be like my friend Sabrina so to get inspiration for a modern her I added some special Sabrina moments. Lastly, I was informed that Lisa was turning into a Mary Sue, which I deteste (btw please don't try to make your review morenoticable by putting ... (cue dramatic concluding scentance). So in honor of this comment I have started this chapter withLisa doing something we all hate to do,is very painful, and something I consider very un-Mary Sueish. **

**Enjoy!**

The sound of muffled swearing and loud jumping around a wooden floor came from inside the rotting apartment, though once Briar had lived in worse places, right now the idea that someone could live in there disgusted him, this place broke every safety regulation in the book.

"Lisa?" he hoped and dreaded that this was the right place, it had taken him all day to find enough people who knew the strange girl on the beach, not to mention where she lived, and he didn't like what he had found out; she wasn't very social, but that was the least of her problems.

Another muffled word that came in her voice but she had no right to know floated through the window, a sound akin to ripping duct tape off the roll could be heard faintly.

"Lisa, what are you doing in there?"

"I'm waxing and if you don't want some of this devil stuff on you, I recommend coming back later!"

Briar winced inwardly, he tried to force his mouth to form the words, _Okay, see you in three hours, or four, or tomorrow, just please let me stay a man!_ Perhaps it was the presence of Tris, behind him and safely out of the way, ("No use for both of us to become bacon.") or Rosethorn's teachings that he couldn't ignore, but instead he demand that she come outside, this instant. "I have to talk to you now!"

"Lizzy, who is out there?" The second voice was quieter and mature, questioning and testy.

"No one Mateli! No one important." It was a direct attack, but Briar stood firm.

"Lisa, you tell me who's out there, I can hear them and I want to know who it is."

The front door opened, one hinge not attached, making a shrieking, slow sound, like nails on a chalk board. Lisa stood with her hand on her hips, short shorts, the dark; skin tight ballet type, were over a dark red leotard, pink pointe shoes were on her feet and her legs were bright red from the waxing, some wax still on, wincing she began to pick some off her bright red cheeks. "Go away Briar."

Suddenly something caught his eye; her stomach bulged slightly, unnaturally, which had been hidden before. Or maybe it was entirely natural. "How long?"

"Three months." A young woman with Lisa's eyes and darker hair draped a coat over her sister. "What's it to you?"

"I have reason to believe that Lisa has ambient mag…"

"Magic?"

Briar didn't answer as his eyes were draw again to the blazing silver light coming from Lisa's pregnant body, particularly her stomach. "Your baby is a light mage, which puts you at risk. Anything you may eat drink, especially _drink_, or do, can put you and your child at risk, so I have been employed to tell you that for the safety of you and your child you have been excepted into Winding circle School and Medical facility."

"No." her answer was flat, nothing like the girl he had met. "I'm not leaving Matti, and I resent you thinking that I did it because I was drunk." She placed a gentle hand on her stomach. "Good bye."

The door slammed, without being able to help it, Briar looked down to make sure he was till whole.

"Shit." What on earth was he going to tell Rosethorn, and Tris for that matter? "Shit. Tris!"

"You failed, I heard. At least you're okay."

"Until Rosethorn get s hold of me."

"True."


	4. 666 ode to the devil's grandmother

**Author's note: Here we go, another Chappie, some swear words so that everyone's aware of that. R&R please, costructive critisism is wealcomed. Flamers will be used to toast my bread.**

Lisa ran towards the toilet, burning her knees as she slid to it, and vomited violently. One hand supported her, the other twisting her hair away from her face. "This should be over by now!" she nearly wailed to her sister, using toilet paper to wipe her mouth.

"Use a condom next time." was the only sympathy she got from Matilda, referred to as Matti or Mateli, to avoid her unfortunate name, Matti was her older sister, mature, adult, aware and logical, all the things Lisa was not. The only trait both sisters shared was their mule-like stubbornness, and their eyes. Currently Matti was on a mission to get Lisa to go to Winding Circle, conveniently ignoring their financial situation.

And so grumpy and sleepy, and determined to ignore her sister, Lisa went over to the fridge and grabbed a tub of ice cream and some old sour dough bread from the back of the fridge.

"If I shaved your skull, on the back of your head it would say 6666666666666." she said between mouthfuls of empty calories. "You aren't the devil's spawn, oh no, you are the Devil's goddamn Grandmother." She rested her head on the table, and nearly burst into tears. "I'm evil aren't I? I'm a freaking pain in the ass."

Matti simply returned the ice cream to the fridge and toasted the bread, "So how are those mood swings going, by the way?" She placed an orange in front of her sister.

"Gmghmmhmm."

"What's that now? I'm going to Winding circle so that my baby doesn't die? My, what a brilliant idea."

"Devildevildevildevildevildevildevildevil." Lisa picked up her head and defiantly stuffed her hands into her oversized hoodie's pockets. "I'm not going Mateli. I'm not. They're going to poke and prod me and ask me who the father is, and make me tell them what happened to him, and I won't do it. My baby is not a charity case, or a sob fest movie, or a mage. He's wrong."

"So you won't even consider it? Even for your child? That totally innocent life protected by your flesh, and undone by your choices, please Liz, you're better off there than here."

"Be as poetic and logical as you like, I'm not going, my instinct says no, this is not right for my baby."

"Just because-."

"Shut-up. No, no, no, no and no. I won't go through that again, not for you, not for him, and not for me. My baby will not have to go through what you and I did. Screw Winding Circle."

"But if you get worse…?"

"It's just morning sickness, nothing else."

"If you get worse, you will go to Winding Circle. Deal?"

"Fine."

"Good, now eat your lunch and then take some Tylenol and go to work. The rent won't pay itself." Matti called from the washroom.

"God knows that's true." Lisa said around a full mouth, minutes later Matti heard the door slam.

"Shit Liz." Drops of blood splattered the toilet seat. Mateli didn't even bother to clean the seat. She grabbed a few quarters from the jar underneath their laundry and ran to the pay phone, she had memorized the phone number only a week before, but it was in her head, she knew it. 675-9911.

"Hello, Winding Circle Medical facility, how can I help you?"

"I don't need medical, I need Briar, Moss, Briar Moss. I need to speak with Briar Moss or someone who taught him, or a healing mage. I need… help."

The woman's voice was till serene but worried now, "What is the nature of the emergency?"

"My sister is pregnant with a light mage, we think, I mean… well, anyway her original symptoms are continuing and I think some thing's wrong."

"Symptoms such as nausea, in the form of morning sickness, decreased appetite, etcetera, are common in many high risk pregnancies, you don't really need to worry until at least a month has passed. I can get you an appointment but I don't think anything is much out of the ordinary."

"She's vomiting blood!"

"Please hold, I'll connect you to a healing mage." Matti waited to hear a voice, instead a dial tone blared into her ear.

"Goddamn, no good, son-of-a-bitch phone!" Fingers trembling with emotion poured in her remaining quarters.

"Hello, Winding Circle medical Facility." Different lady, she could tell.

"I need to talk to the girl who put me on hold."

"Excuse me?"

"Can I speak to Briar Moss please?" _Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, I'm going insane._

"What is the reason for this phone call?"

"He invited my sister to Winding Circle, she is carrying a mage."

"I see, please hold."

Matti did hold, she held and held until she dropped the phone and kicked it a couple times, and then lifted it up and wiped the mud off it, and apologized for good measure, and prayed it would still work. And finally she heard a hazy voice. "Hello? Hello? Is anybody there?"

"I'm here, talk fast, my quarters are running out."

"Bring Lisa to Discipline as soon as you can, someone can tell you where that is, I'll have a healing mage there and we can make any further decisions."

"How about five-ish?"

Then silence.


End file.
